Dropbox

Effortless file synchronization. Apps for just about every operating system. Tight OS integration. Dependable servers. Supports file-sharing. Shows history of actions. Allows access to deleted files and earlier versions. Good features for Pro users. Easy to install.

Cons

Expensive.

Bottom Line

Dropbox is a simple, reliable, full-featured file-syncing and -storage service with support for real-time online document collaboration.The only downside is that it's not cheap.

Dropbox is among the simplest and most elegant cloud storage and file-syncing services. It gives you access to your files from nearly anywhere. You can install Dropbox on virtually any computer or mobile device you own, and dozens of other apps support integration with Dropbox, too. For personal use, Dropbox works simply and effortlessly. It now also supports real-time collaboration for Office Online users, so you and your colleagues can access and edit the same Dropbox file at the same time while seeing one another's changes appear on the screen as they happen. Dropbox is an excellent choice for online storage, though it doesn't quite beat Editors' Choices Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive for value.

Price, Storage Allotment, and Upload LimitsOne note: This review focuses on Dropbox for personal use. We have evaluated Dropbox for Business separately.

All the Dropbox apps are free to download, and there are plenty of them, but space is pretty limited if you don't pay. The free personal account starts you out with a meager 2GB. You can earn more space through referrals (an additional 500MB for every friend who joins, up to 16GB) and other actions (linking with Twitter, enabling camera uploads, and so on). Still, most other file-syncing and storage programs give you more than 2GB to start.

Paid personal plans, called Dropbox Pro, include 1TB of space for $9.99 per month or $99 per year. One of the most important benefits of having a Pro account is that it renders you eligible for priority support. If something goes wrong, you'll want help figuring out what it was and where your files went. Without priority support, it's nearly impossible to get someone from Dropbox to assist you in real time. You'll have to reach out by email, Web form, or Twitter for help. Even the folks at GetHuman don't have a phone number.

In addition to priority support, Pro users also get some neat file-sharing functionality, such as the ability to control when links to shared files expire. One gripe Dropbox users had in the past concerned access to old files, and the company now offers a neat upgrade that solves this problem. For an extra $3.99 per month or $39 per year, you can add Extended Version History, which keeps previous versions of your files and deleted files for one year without them counting toward your allotted space.

As a point of comparison, SugarSync has a $9.99 per month plan, too, but it only gives you 250GB of space. For the most bang for your buck storage-wise, IDrive offers 1TB for just $59.50 per year. OneDrive is nearly as attractively priced, with a 1TB account going for just $6.99 per month, which works out to be $83.88 per year. If you buy a 1TB OneDrive plan, Microsoft throws in an Microsoft Office 365 subscription, too, which could be a huge incentive if you need Office. Note, too, that if you want to be able to collaboratively edit in Dropbox, you'll also need to pay for an Office 365 license. More on collaboration in a bit.

In terms of free space, you get more with Box, which offers 10GB to start. Beware that Box limits uploaded files to 250MB for non-paying members. For $10 per month, you can increase your Box storage allotment to 100GB (less than what you get with Dropbox for the same price) and your maximum file upload size to 5GB (still smaller than Dropbox).

OneDrive offers 15GB of free space for U.S. users, which is a lot more than Dropbox. Google Drive gives you 15GB to start, too, but the math gets tricky with Google Drive. That 15GB is spread across Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos, and you might worry that you'll eat up the space quickly. But not all files count against your limit. Anything you created with Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides (what most people call Google Docs) doesn't count. Photos smaller than 2,048 by 2,048 pixels and videos shorter than 15 minutes also don't count. See Google's help page on Drive storage limits for even more confusing details.

With Dropbox, there is no file-size limit for files saved to Dropbox via the desktop application or mobile apps, provided your account has enough room. Files uploaded through the website, however, are capped at 10GB.

The price for Business accounts varies based on the number of employees: It starts at $15 per month per user, with a minimum of 5 users, making $75 per month the minimum. Business accounts have a lot of additional features and services included, which you can read about on Dropbox's site.

Supported Apps and Compatibility Dropbox has been in the file-syncing and storage game for years, and its maturity shows. There are Dropbox apps for Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire, BlackBerry, and Windows Phones and tablets. In a pinch, there's a Web app that works well, too.

When installed on a laptop or desktop computer, Dropbox works almost invisibly, appearing and working more like a part of your operating system than a separate app. It looks quite different from other cloud syncing services, such as SugarSync, which has a complete app interface even on the desktop.

One huge perk to using Dropbox is that it integrates with practically every other app and service out there. Say you have a mobile email client that can integrate with cloud storage services. Dropbox is almost definitely going to be among them. Dropbox is also a supported app on IFTTT and Zapier. Compatibility with other services is rarely a problem for Dropbox users.

How to Get Dropbox, and the Basics Dropbox is available as a download for desktop installation from the company's website, and for mobile devices from their respective app stores. The site makes it easy for new users to install Dropbox, because it detects their operating system and automatically suggests the right program.

When you download and install the client, you create a Dropbox account or sign into an existing one. Next, the program creates a folder on your computer called Dropbox. You can choose where to install it, or you can accept the default location (you can always move it later). You also have the option to embark on an advanced setup, which gives you more control over how and where Dropbox installs.

Once installation finishes, a shortcut icon appears in the top menu bar in Mac or system tray in Windows that lets you open your Dropbox folder with just one click. From this same icon, you can also reach your Preferences and Settings to adjust, for example, the folder's location or upload and download speeds.

To use Dropbox, you simply put files in the Dropbox folder and leave them there. Everything else is automatic. Like most other file-syncing and storage services, Dropbox automatically syncs your files everywhere, so they're available on any Internet-connected machine where you've installed Dropbox or that has a Web browser. Files you save at home automatically show up on your office computer. Photos you upload from the Dropbox iPhone app show up on your laptop at home, and so forth. Bear in mind that file-syncing services are not the same as cloud backup services. If you delete files from your Dropbox folder on your computer, they will also be deleted from all the other devices on which you have Dropbox installed and your online Dropbox account.

Additional Features Dropbox preserves 30 days' worth of older copies of your files, meaning you can restore a file from the past month to a prior version. If you want version histories going back further, you need to pay for a Pro account (prices below) or tack on that $3.99 per month extra I mentioned previously (a package formerly called Packrat).

When Dropbox detects a change in a file, it only uploads and downloads the parts that have changed. If you edit a file that's 125MB, Dropbox might only needed to transfer 2 or 3MB of data to successfully update it everywhere else. That's a decent bandwidth savings that keeps the program lightweight when it's in action.

File Sharing Dropbox offers a few ways to share files with others and collaborate. One way is to share files via the Public folder. When you install Dropbox, the app automatically creates a subfolder called Public. To use it, you place a file in the folder, right-click on it, and choose Copy Public Link, which creates a Web address of a permanent, public link to the file. Only that file and not the entire folder is visible from that link. You can give the link to anyone you want, and they'll be able to access the file even if they don't use Dropbox. Note that there's no password protection for this sharing method.

Similarly, you can easily share images you put into the Photos subfolder. Dropbox lets you easily send a link to a Public Gallery with these images.

A slightly different feature uses invitation-only shared access to folders, rather than single files, that you create anywhere in Dropbox (not just the Public and Photos folders). Right-click any folder you want to share, and select Share This Folder. The app sends you to the Dropbox website, where you can enter email addresses of people to whom you want to grant access. Friends and colleagues you list can add, edit, and delete the files in the folder. They'll need a Dropbox account, but they don't need to install the client if they're satisfied with accessing the folder online. If they do install the Dropbox client, the shared folder will automatically download to their My Dropbox folder.

Another option when you right-click any folder lets you share it quicker. Choose Share Dropbox Link, and a link immediately copies to your clipboard without you having to visit the Dropbox website.

One of my favorite features is that when you share files, Dropbox notifies you when someone accesses it, comments on it, or has other activity. You'll get an email that says who did what.

Real-Time CollaborationIt took a while, but Dropbox now supports real-time collaboration. This new feature is available to Office Online users who have paid Office 365 licenses. In action, it looks the same as any other collaborative editing in Office Online, only the file is saved in your Dropbox account. You see the document on-screen and color-coded flags for each contributor with an active cursor on the file. As you and your collaborators edit, everyone sees the changes appear on-screen as they happen.

Google Drive and OneDrive have had support for collaboration for much longer. Box also supports collaboration, and paying subscribers get a number of features that dictate what each collaborator can and cannot do.

Regardless, adding real-time collaboration was huge for Dropbox, and it may very well be the reason a team or small organization keep their Dropbox account rather than switch to another provider.

Another neat collaboration feature, called File Request, lets you set up a folder and request that people put stuff into it. Imagine a professor who wants students to upload assignments, rather than delivering them by email. It would also be a convenient way to collect documents from job candidates. Other services, including Google Drive, also let you share folders, but the permissions are different. With Google Drive, a collaborator can either have view-only access or editing access. In either case, the person can see all the content in the folder, even if someone else uploaded it. The beauty of the File Request feature is that the collaborators can't see what's in the folder. They can only blindly drop files into it, which is a necessity in many cases.

Dropbox: a Simple Solution to a Simple Problem With its clean and efficient interface, Dropbox offers a simple solution to a simple (but serious) problem. Download and install Dropbox, and you'll never again have to worry about not having access to the latest version of all your files. It's also an excellent tool for backing up files if you only need something lightweight. And now that it supports collaboration through Office Online, it's a much more thorough tool for teams. Editors' Choices Microsoft OneDrive and Google Drive are more competitive price-wise, but if you're already using Dropbox, that may not be compelling enough argument for you to leave this impressive and convenient service.

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Jill Duffy is a contributing editor, specializing in productivity apps and software, as well as technologies for health and fitness. She writes the weekly Get Organized column, with tips on how to lead a better digital life. Her first book, Get Organized: How to Clean Up Your Messy Digital Life is available for Kindle, iPad, and other digital formats. She is also the creator and author of ProductivityReport.org.
Before joining PCMag.com, she was senior editor at the Association for Computing Machinery, a non-profit membership organization for...
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